BlackBerry 10 fails to win over analysts

Good, but not good enough.

Canaccord Genuity Technology Analyst Michael Walkley attended BlackBerry’s event in NYC where management launched the new BB10 OS and announced two new BB10 smartphones, the Z10 and Q10. Management also announced plans to change the company name from RIM to BlackBerry.

While he was impressed with the features of the new operating system, Walkley believes Research In Motion has only closed the gap with more mature smartphone OS platforms and offered limited differentiating services or features to win back customers from more mature ecosystems. Further, he believes the carrier pricing of the new Z10 smartphone versus competing high-end smartphones creates a tough environment for strong BB10 sales to turn around BlackBerry’s long term business trends.

Walkley has increased his BB10 average selling price assumptions, resulting in him adjusting his F2013 loss per share estimate from $(1.11) to $(1.10) and his F2014 estimate from $(0.52) to $(0.48). That said, Walkley continues to have a bearish outlook for shares of RIM.